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3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

15'. 8a 0. HAENIOHEN, Assignors to themselves and 0. SEEBASS.

ELEGTRIU I ENDULUM CLOCK.

No. 10,720. Reissued May 11, 1886.

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@v fiz/Mbt ATTORNEYS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

P. & 0. HAENIOHEN, Assignurs to themselves and 0. SEEBASS.

ELECTRIC PENDULUM GLOGKT d May 11, 188.6.

Reiss I MIME? BY 6 22;

. ATTORNEYS.

' 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. F. 8: O. HAENIOHEN,

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ATTO IVEYS.

him by an oscillating and weighted crutch tion thereof.

UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE.

FRIEDRICH. HAENIGHEN AND OTTO HAENICHEN, OF PHILADELPHlA, PA., ASSIGNORSTO THEMSELVES, Ann OSCAR SEEBASS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC PENDULUM CLOCK.

LZECIIICATION forming part of Reissued Letters Patent No. 10,720, datedMay 11, 1886 Original No. 316,360, dated April 2|, [835. Application forreissue filed December 23, 1885. Serial No. 186,569.

following to be a full, clear, and exact desorip This invention relatesto an improved electric clock, which is economically operated by meansof a weak and lasting battery, in which the residual magnetism of theactuating electro-magnet is neutralized, and the injurious eifect of theinduced sparks by the reversingof the current at the points of contact.is avoided.

The invention consists of an electric clock, the oscillating pendulum ofwhich carries a bracket-support on whichthe current-reversaction whenthe pendulum arrives nearly at the end of its'stroke. The pendulum issus pended by a spring from a supporting-bracket, through which theconducting-wires areconducted to the pendulum and the reversingdevice.The impulse is given to the penduthat'is actuated by a lever-arm oftheoscillating armature, which arm also transmits by intermediatemechanism motion to the gearwheels, by which the hands are worked. Theresidual magnetism of the electro-magnet is moved by alternately passingcurrents of opposite direction through the eleetro-magnet by means ofthe reverser, as will appear more fully hereinafter, and finally bepointed outin the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a front view of ourimproved elec tric clock. Figs. 2 and 3 represent, respectively, asectionalside elevation and a front view of the clock-actuatingmechanism. Fig. 4 represents a perspective view of the current-reversingmechanism. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a simpler modification of thesame. Fig. dis a perspective view of the pendulnm-support;' and Figs. 7,8, and 9 are diagrams illustrating the-course of the current in thedifferent positions of the reverser.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

The battery employed for working our improved electric clock may be ofany approved type, preferably that derived by Meidinger, 5

which has the property of furnishing weak currents fora considerablelength'of time without requiring replenishing.

B in the drawings represents the battery,

which is located in the clock'case, or at any 6 other suitable place.

An electro-magnet, A, is supported below the clock mechanism, andprovided with a nicely-balanced armature, A, thattis fulcrumed invertical standards A". The arma- 5 ture A is provided withcontact-screws a a-' at both ends, that form contact with a fixed post,A, and with a spring. a", of the disconnector F. The armature A isprovided with a fixed upwardly-extending lever-arm, C, hav- 7o ing astud, d, at its upper end, which stud formsintermittent contact with anadjustable disk, (1 on the front arm, D, of an oscillating crutch, D,that is supported by a horizontal steel shaft, D", havingconically-tapering 7 ends, to bearings of ahorizontal bracket-arm, D, atthe upper part of the clock-casing. The crutch D extends downward andengages at its lower end the pendulum P inany approved manner. isapplied to a fixed arm, dd, that extends at right angles from the upperpart of the crutch D, as shown in Fig. 3, said weight returning thecrutch D into contact with the stud d of 'thelever-arm C after animpulse has been given to the crutch by said arm. The armato re A isattracted by the electro-magnet A at eaoh'stroke of the pendulum whenthe battery-circuit is closed. The attraction of the armature A movesthe lever-arm G'sidewise,

and imparts a lateraloscillation to the crutch D. On the interruption ofthe circuit the armature A' is released and the arm G moved back,whereby the crutch D, and thereby the receives-its return motion untilthe 9 5 pendulum, former is arrested by the stop-pin f. The lever-arm Calso imparts,'by a pivot-pawl, e, in- V termittent motion to aratchetwheel, e, which latter transmits, by a worm-gear, 0, verticalshaft 6, and bevel-gears e and e rotary momo An adjustable weight, 11, 8

' tion to a horizontal shaft, 6, which operates the minute and hourhands by the usual gearings. (Not shown in the drawings.)

The disconnector F consists of a fulcruined lever, F, that is balancedby a weight, a, at the end opposite to that to-which the contactspringa. is applied. -A contact-screw, a, and post a determine the di p of thelever F. A platinum pin, between the spring a and the contact-screw a,dips into a mercury-cup, a7, and closes the battery-circuit until thelever F is lifted by the dropping of the armature-lever Al, whereby. thecurrent v adjusting the suspension-spring properly into shapedenlargements mof the levers Z ZZ" Z".

a vertical posit-ion. The supporting-plate I is provided with livescrew-posts and binding-screws, h, 'to which the cm'rent-transniittingwires are'ap'plied. 'The screw-posts h are connected by the steelsuspcnsioi'i-spriug and .four spiral wires with five contact-wires,

that are arranged in the pendulum P, as

shown clearly'in Figs. 4 and The spiral conductingwires adapt themselvesto the position of the pendulum without interfering in theleast with theoscillations of the same.

The pendulum P is preferably made of wellseasoned and varnished pinewood, which is but little liable to change by atmospheric influences.The conducting-wires lead to the reverser' E, which issupported ouabracket, E, attached to the pendulum, as shown in Figs. 1, 4, and 5.

The reverser E consists of four levers, Z Z" Z Z, which are fulcrumed topost-s1 Z of the bracket E, the lovers being balancedbyadjustable'weights '20 at their outer ends.- The inner ends ofthelevers are provided with platinum pins, which dip into mercury-cups Z atthe central part of the bracket E. Stops Z regulate the dip of thelevers, which are electrically connected by spiral springs 3' 8 8 s withthe conducting-wires arranged on the pendulum P. A transverse shaft, F,is supportedv in central bearings, p p, of the bracket E, said shaftcarrying an upright oscillator,

t), with an adjustable weight at its upper end. From'thelower part ofthe oscillator Oextend diagonal arms m 'm. m m, which are providedattheir ends with contact-screws m for the purpose-of regulating theupward motion of the platinum points of the levers Z Z Z" Z. The screwsm. form contact with disk- Dnring the oscillating-motion-of the pendulum'Pfor instance, from the right to the leftthe oscillator is held incontact with the left-hand stud rby the momentum imparted by thependulum to its weight; but as soon as the pendulum 1? reaches itsextreme point the oscillator 0 falls over by'the force of gravity to theright-hand contact-stop r, and is retained in this position throughoutthe entire oscillation of the pendulum from left to right. When thependulum P arrivesat the extreme right end of its oscillation, theoscillator is dropped back bygravity to the left-hand-stud r, and so onalternately. In this position of the oscillator the connections are madeby the le vers Z Z with the mercury-cups Z, asshown in Fig. 9; Thecircuit is thereby closcd,the current flowing from the positive pole ofthe battery B, conducting-wire 1, pendulum I, mercury-cu p Z", lever Z,spring 3', wire 2, electromagnet A, wire 4, spring 8, lever Z",mercurycup Z and wire5 to the negative pole of the battery. The armatureof the electro-magnet is thereby attracted and retained in this positionuntil the pendulum P reaches its extreme point at the right-hand side,at which moment" the oscillator 0 drops toward the left and ehangesthcconnections, so that the current takes the course indicated by thediagram Fig. 8,,that is to say, from the positive. pole of the battery,conducting'wire 1',mercury-ci1p ZI lever Z, spring s, connecting-wire 6,con ducting-wire 4, to the electro-magnet, thence to themercury-cupoft-he'disconnectorF,0ver the same and wire 3 to spring 8,lever- Z, mercury-cup Z",and conducting-wire 5, backto the negative poleof the battery. As the current is thus made to flow in a reversedirection through the coils of the elcctro-magnet, it has ICO the effectof neutralizing the weak residual magnetism still remaihingin the coresof the same; As soon as the residual magnetism is neutraliied, thearmature-lever is dropped, and at the same time the disconnector-leverF' lifted,'whereby the circuit. isinterrupted by raising the pin a outof the mercury-cup. This takes place before the current can exertits-full effect upon the cores of the elec tro-magnet and attractthereby the armature.-

In the interval of time during which the oscil lator 0 falls from onecontact-stop r to the other, the arms m an an" m are not in contact 1with the levers Z Z Z Z, while the ends of the latter are immersed for amoment into the mercury-cups Z Z beforethe connection of the levers Z Zand arms m m is ,made. By this means'a. direct battery-current isinterpolated" to prevent induced sparks at the point of disconnection ofthe arms m 'm and levers Z Z,

which sparks would exert an injurious influence upon the platinumcontacts. When the oscillator O is in its intermediate position, asshownin Fig. 4, the current flows, as indicated in Fig. 7, from thepositivepole of the battery byn'ire l to the mercury-cu p Z thence along lever1, spring 81*, wire 6, spring 8', lever I, mercury-cup Z andconnectingwire 5, to the negative pole of the battery.

1n the modification shown in Fig.5 the reverser E is constructed of fourmercury-cups,

'u' v" 'v v, which are supported on postsat the i so dug-wires 1 to 5 ra refilling or the battery.

corners of the bracket E. In these cases the levers Z Z Z Z aredispensed with and the connections made directly by the arms in m m m ofthe oscillator O, which dip alternately into the mercury-cups v c and v.The dipping-points of the arms can be made of any material that admitsof amalgamation. Each pair of arms m m -and m m has to be insulated fromthe shaft of the oscillator. The action of this reverser is the same asthat of the other'form of reverser described, the con;

nections being made through the supporting-- posts of the mercury-cupsand the conduct of the pendulum, as before. Any other equivalentconstruction of the reverser may be used, )rovided that the followingfunctions are performed: First, that by the action of its oscillator thecurrent of the battery is first conducted in one direction through theelectro-magnet, so as to attract its armature and :give the requiredimpulse to the pendulum and clock mechanism; secondly, that in theintermediate position of the oscillater the electr'o-magnet is cut outand a direct battery-current introduced into the reverserr, and,thirdly, that by the opposite position of the oscillator the current ismade to flow in a direction opposite to that in which it flows in thefirst position of the oscillator, so that the residual magnetism in theelectromagnct is neutralized, and thereby the injurious effect of theinduced currents obviated.

The interpolation of a direct battery-current at the intermediateposition of the oscillator prevents induced sparking, and rendersthereby the contactpoints of the reverser more durable, as they are notliable to corrosion. I

It is obvious that in place of the mercurycups platinum contact-platesmaybe used;

but as they are liable to oxidation in the course of time, which mightto a slight extent affect the proper working of the reverser, it is preferable to use mercury-contacts, as by these ,even the slight effects ofoxidation areavoided.

As, owing to the removal of the residual magnetism, the loss of thecurrent is very small, a weak battery may be employed,which has theadvantage that it will last for a considerable length of time, so thatthe clock can be kept in motion for years, if no other disturbingeffects take place, without requiring Having thus described ourinvention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1.The combination of an oseillat-i'ngpendulum, current closing andreversing devices,an

- electro-magnet, a balanced armature, and

mechanism connecting said armature with the pendulunrcrutch and thehands, operatingtrain for actuating the pendulum and the hands by theoscillations of the armature,substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of a pendulum, current pendulum closing and reversingdevices, an electromagnet, an armaturehaving an upwardly extendinglever-arm adapted to oscillate the from the crutch, an oscillatingweighted crutch engaging the pendulum, and

70 mechanism operated by said armature for-setting the hands in motion,substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of an oscillating pendulum, current closing andreversing devices actuated by said pendulum, an electromagnet, abalanced armature actuated by saint electro-magnet, a disconnectoroperated by said armature, and mechanism actuated by the armature, so asto oscillate the pendulum and set the hands inlmotion, substantially asset forth.

4. 7 An electric clock consisting of a pendu lum, an oscillatingcurrent-reversing device supported on the pendulum, an electronagnet, abalanced armature-actuated by said electro-magnet, and mechanismactuated by the armature, whercby'the pendulum is oscillated and thehands set in motion,snbstantiall y as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In an electric clock, a pendulum sus-. pended by aspring from asupporting-plate and connected by'spiral conductorswith the binding-postof the snpportingplate,substantially as setforth. I

6. In an electric clock, the combination of an electro-magnet, abalanced armature provided with a fixed lever arm, an oscillatingcrutch, a pendulum actuated by said crutch, and transmitting mechanismactuated by the lever-arm of the armature,'whereby motion is imparted tothe hands of the clock,substan tiall y as specified.

7. In an electric clock, the combination-of an oscillating pendulum, abattery, an oscillating reverser supported on the pendulum, anclectro-magnet, a balanced armature, a fnlcrumcd disconnector operatedby the armature, the reverser, electro-magnet, and disconnector wherebyat each stroke of the pendulum a current is passed first in onedirection through the electro-magnet, and then in the oppositedirection, so as to neutralize. the residual magnetism of the same,substantially as set 11 forth.

S. In an electric clock,the combination of a pendulunr havingcontact-stops, a reversing device supported on said pendulum, andconsisting of a Weighted oscillator that moves I between saidcontact-points, and of contact levers and plates actuated by theoscillator, whereby the circuit is first closed and the current-passedin one direction, andv then reversed and instantlyinterrupted,substantially I as set forth.

being in circuit with the battery, no

I oscillator, whereby the circuit is closed, re-

fversed, or interrupted and induced sparks prevented, substantially asset forth,

10. In an electric clock, the combination of apendulum havingasupporting-bracket plate; I r an upright oscillating lever fnlcrumed tobearings of the bracket-plate and moving between contact-stops on thependulum, lever-arms extending from the oscillator, and metallicconnections supported on the bracket-plate with which the arms of the.oscillator fOlll] alternating contact at each oscillation of thependulum substantially as set forth.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our invention we have signedour names in I:

' presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRIEDRICH HAENIOHEN. OTTO HAENIUHEN.

Witnesses tosignature of Friedrich 'H'aenichen: l

X. CARDINAL, J. J. FINNEGAN, Witnesses to signature of Otto HaenichenALFRED THOMPSON,

CHAS. P. KELLY.

